Spring is finally here, and I can’t think of a better album to welcome the arrival of warm weather than Gabe Bernini’s solo debut, the aptly titled “Gabe’s Album.” The album will officially be released Friday, April 6, and Bernini and his band will celebrate with a CD release show at the Parlor Room, 32 Masonic St., in Northampton at 8 p.m.
This fall, Bernini went on a cross-country tour playing keyboards with the roots rock band Deer Tick (who will play the Green River Festival this year). And when he wasn’t out on the road, he holed up in his basement and worked on the songs that would become “Gabe’s Album.”
Bernini started off with a collection of over 60 songs that he whittled down to the 15 that are on the completed disc. Bernini took the concept of a solo album to heart and completed the entire project on his own, playing drums, bass, guitar, percussion and an assortment of keyboards. He approached the project with focus and confidence, and he succeeds in creating a full band sound.
The disc opens with a tune called “Noble,” and like a lot of the songs here, it is about a relationship gone bad. But even as he sings the line “I had no idea, so tell me how noble you are,” the bitterness in his words is countered by cheery handclaps and bouncy rhythms. A big part of this disc’s appeal is that even when lyrics become somewhat dark, “Gabe’s Album” doesn’t lose its sunny disposition. The songs go down easy, as there’s a familiarity, yet freshness to them.
One of the album’s standout tracks is the poppy-rocker “Self C.” The sing-along chorus, woo-hoo backing vocals and brief guitar solo make it the perfect tune to blast out of your car windows on a hot summer day.
Bernini is a Wilco fan, and you can hear that band’s influence creeping into songs like the sad love song “She’s Not Calling,” and the mid-tempo rocker “Really Gone.”
The keyboard glee and crashing drums heard on “I’m a Real Man,” bring to mind NRBQ, while the guitar-driven “You Forget” is reminiscent of Tom Petty. The one departure here is the 10-minute plus “July 23, 2017” which is a collection of quiet acoustic songs, or should I snippets of songs, that are joined together by weird electronic sounds and other odd noises, giving this track the feel of a lengthy dream sequence.
When you record an album without a band, you have to form one if you want to play the songs live — and that is what Bernini has done. When he plays the Parlor Room tomorrow, he’ll be backed by Gabe’s Band which is Jeff Lewis and Chris Jennings of the Sun Parade, and Zack James and Nina Singleton-Spencer of The Snaz. Their goal, in Bernini’s words, is “to create a show that conjures NRBQ meets the Replacements, meets Wilco, meets The Pixies and all their other favorite groups.”
That’s quite a lofty goal and if that isn’t enough to entice you to check out the show, you should also know that this is a double CD release show. The five-piece band Court Etiquette will be opening the show and they are releasing their new full-length debut. The band, who are all high school students from Northampton, play a brand of indie-pop rock that has gained them some notice on the local music scene. You may have seen Court Etiquette when they played at the Green River Festival last year. They were one of the young bands that played on the Next Wave Stage, and their set was very well received. They are definitely a young band worth keeping your eye on.
Tickets are $10 and are available at www.signaturesoundspresents.com.
In January, we told you about Kate Lorenz’s debut album “Sing When Lonely,” a great collection of soulful pop rock tunes that show off her strong voice and penchant for rocking out. Lorenz and her band the Constellations will be playing tunes from the new disc Friday night, April 6, at the Root Cellar, 10 Fiske Ave. in Greenfield, at 7 p.m. Opening the show is the Rear Defrosters, a Brattleboro, Vt.-based honky-tonk and rockabilly band that also features Lorenz on vocals. Country band Dez Roy will also perform. Tickets are $10 at the door.
The Wildcat O’Halloran Band may not be a new band like the other groups mentioned in this column, but they do have a new album out called “Hot Pulldown.” O’Halloran, a resident of Sunderland, has been making music here in Franklin County for over two decades, and “Hot Pulldown” is his 13th release. The new disc has been getting airplay all over the country and has landed on national blues charts, as well as received a glowing review in “Living Blues” magazine.
The disc is full of O’Halloran’s scorching blues guitar and hilarious tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Expect the Wildcat O’Halloran Band to play some tunes from this new disc when he brings the blues to Greenfield tonight, April 5, in a show at the Wheelhouse at the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, 289 Main St., in Greenfield.
O’Halloran, who has played about every venue in the area and has opened for acts ranging from John Lee Hooker to the Stray Cats, will bring along some special friends tonight, including blues singer Eva Marie Cappelli, harp player Wally Greaney and guitarist Tommy Whalen.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and tickets are $5.
Sheryl Hunter is a music writer who lives in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national magazines. You can contact her at soundslocal@yahoo.com.